On April 3, 2024, the data from the 2023 police crime statistics for the Gütersloh district was presented at the annual press conference. The crime trend in the district of Gütersloh is not alarming, but in line with the national trend, a further increase has been recorded
In the district of Gütersloh, the number of cases has risen to 18,625, an increase of 8.22% compared to the previous year. This is a larger increase than in the OWL comparison (+ 4.07%). The crime frequency rate (KHZ) as a measure of the crime rate (number of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants) has naturally also risen to 5,087 due to the increase in crimes overall.
Of the recorded crimes, 10,671 were solved, which led to a slight increase in the crime clearance rate to 57.29%. Considering the increase in the number of cases, this is a pleasing figure.
Individual offense areas:
A significant increase was again recorded in theft offenses (+15.11%), albeit with a slightly higher clearance rate (33.94%).
The number of residential burglary cases also rose again slightly from 270 to 280. The clearance rate was 20.36% (28.81% in 2022.
Bicycle thefts rose to 1579. The clearance rate here is 10.45%. Bicycle theft is a focus of police activities in the Gütersloh district police authority. Following the sharp increase in 2022, the number of cases in this area of crime has only risen slightly and is still below the level of the years before the pandemic.
Violent crime has also risen (from 639 to 737). However, the clearance rate has also risen (from 80.33% to 84.98%). With a clearance rate of 88.80% (previous year 91.64%), the number of assault offenses is roughly on a par with the previous year (+ 1.44%).
Crimes against sexual self-determination have fallen slightly (- 14.85%). The clearance rate in this area of crime is 85.40%
In the area of fraud against older people, 762 cases were registered in 2023 (previous year: 928 cases), of which 723 were attempts. In most cases, the scam is the so-called grandchild trick with calls from false public officials. The 57 completed crimes resulted in total losses of over 1.3 million euros.
Further data can be found in the Annual Crime Report 2023.
Tanja K. from Gütersloh took part in the presentation of the crime statistics. from Gütersloh, who played a key role as a witness in helping to identify a 24-year-old man after an attempted rape:
Photo (from left to right): First Chief Detective Inspector Helge Storck, witness Tanja K., District Administrator Sven-Georg Adenauer, First Chief Detective Inspector Manfred Groß